


Growing Apart

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Comfort Sex, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2013-12-24
Packaged: 2018-01-05 20:31:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1098291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Um, Armin is upset that Eren is spending so much time with Levi and he gets the impression that he’s sleeping with him so he actively pursues Reiner for comfort sex or something…</p><p>Like the prompt says, comfort sex or something.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Growing Apart

**Author's Note:**

> Awkward!Reiner. Might be a bit OOC. When I wrote this, I didn't know Reiner was the Armored Titan. Well, I did, but I didn't feel like dealing with the whole traitor-angst aspect, so traitor!Reiner isn't addressed.

Armin could get used to this.

He could.

_But damnit was it hard._

Eren gave him a friendly smile before turning to leave with Levi, who was waiting at the door with his usual apathetic look.

Armin felt something tight coiled in his chest, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. It took a moment to identify, because he wasn’t prone to jealousy. No, he really wasn’t.

Ok, maybe he was, but no one had ever taken Eren from him. He’d never had a reason to be jealous because no one had ever had the capacity to make him jealous before.

They’d always been the best of friends. No one had ever been able to come between them.

Of course, Armin thought hollowly as he left the room and wandered through the walls of the Survey Corps’ secret headquarters, who else would be able to but humanity’s strongest soldier? How could he, smart and brainy and tactical but unskilled in mass Titan-killing, compete with the strongest Titan killer in the world? It was only natural for Eren with his Titan-killing fetish to follow Levi with starry, admiring eyes. Of course Eren would be enamored with Levi. He’d seen his mother eaten by a Titan and his fury and desire to kill all Titans certainly coincided with Levi’s ability to mass-kill Titans.

Titans Titans Titans, Armin thought. That was all that was ever on his mind. And Armin understood, he did really; he’d seen the haunted look on Eren’s face, had hugged him close and held him through the night when he cried quietly, those first few awful nights where the world felt so lonely when his mother died. If anyone could understand, it was he or Mikasa. If Eren had been involved with Mikasa then he would’ve accepted it, been fine with it. But Levi….

 _He looks like a dog following a bone,_ Armin thought uncharitably. Then he felt bad. It wasn’t Eren’s fault. He didn’t know he was hurting his best friend, the one who’d been by his side before even Mikasa. He didn’t know how Armin felt about him and it wasn’t his fault; it was Armin’s for being too much of a coward to say it.

Armin sighed. He fumbled with his shoulder straps and leaned against the wall. He was sure he had somewhere to be, but he suddenly didn’t care about being yelled at by Erwin for being late to whatever meeting he had to be in.

Everyone thought he had so much potential. Erwin thought he was brilliant, Hanji thought he was smart and cute and was always asking him if he wanted to help with research, Levi didn’t call him a brat, Jean thought very fondly of him, the rest of the 104th Training Squad trusted him, maybe even liked him, but the one person whose attention he longed for was drifting away from him.

Maybe he was overreacting. But then, no he wasn’t, he really wasn’t.

Just the other day he’d been going to the dungeons to ask if Eren wanted to eat lunch with him but he’d gotten a very unwelcome surprise when he’d stepped down into the dark underground room. The sound of panting and groaning and a harsh slap of skin on skin and murmured cursing. Armin froze and felt his heart lodge in its throat, beating painfully hard. He’d been tempted to make his presence known but he was afraid.

He was afraid Eren would roll off Levi and start spluttering and looking flustered. He was afraid Levi would just stare at him with those blank eyes of his and look completely unashamed like Eren was his and he wasn’t concerned that Eren’s best friend had caught them. He was afraid it would hurt when Eren looked at him with guilt in his eyes like his little brother had just caught him doing grown up stuff.

“Uf!” Armin flinched as he walked into something solid. He stumbled back and tripped over the door frame. A strong hand reached forward and caught his shirt, pulling him back onto his feet. “Oh hello,” Armin smiled.  “Thanks.”

Reiner Braun smiled that gentle smile of his. He smoothed Armin’s wrinkled shirt and rearranged his jacket. His hand lingered on Armin’s, but only for a moment. Armin tried to smile back but it came out more like a grimace. “Where are you headed?”

“Oh Levi has me on cleaning patrol,” Reiner said. He rolled his eyes. “He said to clean the north side wall again. Apparently the moss is getting to him. I wanted to tell him it was pointless to pull it so early and that it would just grow back, but he’s Lance Corporal, so…”

Armin stared at him. “Are you criticizing Lance Corporal Levi?”

Reiner’s eyes widened at Armin’s tone. “No!”

“I was just kidding,” Armin said, dismayed. Why did people never understand when he was joking…? Maybe he should stop trying. There must be something about his face that made every joke come out dead serious or like a threat. He’d thought about practicing smiling to come off more friendly but honestly, in a job like being a member the Survey Corps, learning to be friendly and sociable wasn’t very high on his list of things to do.

“Oh!” Reiner looked relieved. Then he looked nervous again.

Armin studied him carefully. The tall broad male looked nervous, always looked nervous around him. Armin would be lying if he said he didn’t find Reiner attractive, in a way. He was strong and tall and muscular and his hair was nice. Armin sometimes wondered idly what it would feel like under his fingers.

Armin would be a liar if he said he didn’t sometimes catch Reiner watching him. At first he dismissed it as nothing but after the fifth time of looking up, meeting Reiner’s eyes, and observing the lightest of blushes warm his face, he concluded that it was something, had to be something.

Back in the Training Corps Reiner had always been the one to help him out, taking his backpack when he could barely even run anymore much less drag around half his weight, covering up for him when he slept in by accident, so exhausted from trying to keep up with the others, practically dragging him through the mud the time he almost collapsed on a fifty mile run so he wouldn’t be forced to go home in shame, hiding the evidence of Armin stealing food from the supplies for the others so that Armin wouldn’t be punished and have to go without dinner. 

“So… um, are you ok?” Reiner asked, noticing Armin’s disconnected look.

“Hm? Oh yes, I just… was remembering back in the training corps when we had to run all those laps,” Armin said, laughing nervously. It sounded fake, forced. Reiner looked uncomfortable for a moment. _Damnit Arlert,_ Armin thought. Why couldn’t he smile? Why couldn’t he be inviting and social and friendly? He wanted to be kind to Reiner, to make up for all the times Reiner had covered for him, but smiling didn’t seem to come naturally to him. Even as a child he hadn’t smiled or laughed as much as the others seemed to.

It was something Eren didn’t mind, because he knew when Armin was happy and when he was sad, regardless of the perpetual frown on his face, but other people often thought he was cold and distant.

Which was true, he supposed, for anyone who wasn’t Eren or Mikasa.

“Yeah, that was pretty tough,” Reiner said. “So… where’s Eren?”

Armin winced.

“He’s… probably with Levi.” _God I sound so sullen,_ Armin thought, resenting the whiny quality of his words.

“Oh. That must be… uh, hard you know. Since you’re best friends and all,” Reiner said, trying to sound comforting.

“Why would it be hard? We’re just friends.” Armin looked away.

“Oh, I know I just, um-” Reiner fumbled.

Armin had a sudden thought that Reiner was awfully endearing at that moment. Big strong tough Reiner who’d been strong enough to break out of the Female Titan’s hand looked like his knees were going to give out.

“Well he and Levi are involved,” Armin said lightly.  Trying to make it seem like he didn’t care.

“Oh. Seriously?” Reiner asked, his eyes widening. “Eren really is in a hurry to die.”

Armin looked at him.

Then he chuckled quietly and Reiner felt an enormous flutter tickle his chest.

Reiner’s face split into a wide smile. He chuckled, glad that he’d gotten Armin to laugh and thank god it hadn’t become an awkward silence.    

Reiner wished he wasn’t so awkward. He knew Armin was a more introverted soul and it was actually something he admired about him, how he was always quiet listening rather than speaking, how he always thought about what he was going to say before he said it and was always buried in books.

Many afternoons had been spent hiding behind bookshelves and watching Armin’s blond head bent over some book, his face scrunched up in concentration, his brow furrowed adorably, his cute button nose slightly wrinkled. He loved looking at Armin, the way he bit his lip so cutely and ran his hand idly through his bright blond hair.

He felt creepy but he liked watching Armin read. He looked so calm and collected and those afternoons where Armin read books in the poorly-stocked library would stand out in his memories as the most tranquil, peaceful afternoons of his life. He never felt more content than when he was watching the slender blond boy pour over a book. Reiner wanted so badly to talk to him, see those bright blue eyes look up at him and see him smile, ask him what he was reading, maybe.

Sometimes he’d watch Armin while he was with Eren or Mikasa. He wished he could be as close to Armin as they seemed to be. If he asked Armin about the books he read would he look at Reiner with those sparkling eyes? Would he talk to Reiner as rapidly and eagerly as he did with them? Reiner wanted to know more about him, learn his quirks and pet peeves, likes and dislikes, know more about his opinions and personality. He wanted to be closer to him, but Armin didn’t seem close to anyone but Eren and Mikasa.

He didn’t really want to push between them, not when they made Armin happy.

“Eren’s a bit of a handful, I suppose.”

Reiner smiled quickly and nodded. Armin looked at him carefully.

“I don’t-I suppose you have to get to the north wall,” Armin said, and Reiner allowed himself to believe that that was disappointment he read in his voice.

“Y-yeah, it’s been nice talking to you I guess-“

“I don’t suppose you want to come see me after you’re done?”

Reiner froze. His heart, which had deflated after Armin had seemingly dismissed him, began to pump fast again.

“O-Oh, see you? Um, that sounds…sounds great! Um, where?”

“Do you mind…my room?”

Reiner felt his pulse increasing, could hear his heart pumping in his ears. Was that an invitation to what he thought it was-?

“I-of course not, I mean, I do-I mean yes, yes I would definitely not-not mind,” Reiner stammered. _Idiot._

Armin looked at him. Reiner couldn’t read the emotion there, but he felt a thrill of excitement that perhaps tonight he would be getting to know Armin much better.

Armin wasn’t sure what he was thinking.

He was relieved that Reiner hadn’t rejected him. That would’ve been awfully embarrassing.

But if he was honest, and he usually was when there was nothing at stake, then it was _that feeling._ That warm feeling he’d had, that flush of heat when Reiner had stammered nervously.

It was…. He considered the feeling for a moment.

Pride? No, it was flattery. He was _flattered_ that Reiner stared at him with adoring eyes, blushed when he talked to him. He was much taller than Armin but when he looked down, there was admiration in his eyes.

And in the state Armin was today, feeling spurned by his one of oldest friends for not being a sexy dark-haired Titan-killing badass, having a tall handsome man struggling to talk in his presence was very welcome indeed.

Armin felt a little guilty though, as the day progressed.

It wasn’t fair to lead the poor guy on.

It certainly wasn’t nice to invite him to his bed to make up for the emptiness without particular care for who it was filling the space.

Armin didn’t do nice, but he recognized that it was a dick move.

But still, but still. Reiner was nice, he was sweet, he was handsome, and he was interested.

So Armin waited for the sun to go down, only barely paying attention to the training lessons about Smith’s “Formation for the Long Distance Enemy Detection.” He knew the formation back to front. It was brilliant, but he could think of ways to make improvements for it. He would have to speak with Erwin about it. Later though, because he had… other work to do tonight.

He was caught up in thoughts of whether or not Commander Erwin was in his study and if he had time to talk to him before dinner or not or if he should skip dinner altogether when he felt someone brush past his back. He turned quickly, more as a reaction than curiosity.

A small jolt ran through his stomach.

“Good afternoon, Lance Corporal Levi,” Armin said, quickly making a turnabout and saluting.

“Uh, hey Armin,” Eren said, his expression a little miffed.

Armin’s eyes drifted towards him briefly before flickering over to a different focal point. It hurt to look at him. He’d rather avoid making contact with those expressive green eyes. He didn’t like seeing the fondness and the brotherly affection there.

“Hi.”

“Was there something you were doing or were you just idling about waiting for something to fall into your lap? Because that north wall is looking-”

“No, sir,” Armin interrupted softly. “I’ll be on my way.”

He continued on his way, deciding that talking to Smith could wait.

Well, he would’ve if he hadn’t felt a hand grasping his wrist.

“Armin?” Eren detached himself from Levi’s side, who simply walked away without a word like he didn’t care one way or the other.

Armin sighed. He knew it was just an expression, feeling your “heart sink”, but he could swear that he could feel it sliding into his lower intestines.

 _Damn you, Eren,_ he thought, not without irritation. _Don’t sound so sad and disappointed. In fact, how dare you?_

He was being unfair, but fuck it, life was unfair. If life was fair then he wouldn’t have fallen in love with his best friend. If life was fair, he would be crushing on Reiner instead, maybe fall in love with him. Oh fuck, if life was fair the titans wouldn’t exist, crime and violence and sacrifice wouldn’t be needed, Eren and Mikasa wouldn’t have seen their mothers die, he wouldn’t have had to lose his grandfather for the sake of lowering the population to accommodate for food shortages.

Life was never fair, especially not to him.

It was a sentiment Eren had always shared with him.

But Eren looked actually….calm. Content. Not quite happy, he wouldn’t be truly happy until ever Titan was dead, but tranquil. He looked almost dreamy, like he had hopes and dreams again for a bright future rather than death at the teeth of monsters. .

Seeing Eren so tranquil hurt more than it should’ve. Because for a moment, it was almost like he’d forgotten about his obsession for Titan-killing, however briefly, and that was something that neither Mikasa nor even he had ever managed to achieve.

_What makes Levi so special?_

“What is it, Eren?” Armin asked tiredly. _Levi works fast, I guess._

“Hey, you taking a leaf out of Jean’s book?” Eren asked, snorting derisively. His voice softened immediately after and Armin assumed his tone was meant to be joking.

When Armin didn’t respond, he smiled a little uneasily. “Is something wrong?”  

Armin longed to tell him what was on his mind.

But he couldn’t. He had to keep it to himself because he could not, would not tell Eren.

And that was something he’d never not been able to do.  

When he trudged back to his room, he’d almost forgotten about Reiner. His thoughts and feelings were in turmoil, torn between wanting to speak with Eren and never wanting to speak with him again.

He wanted so badly for Eren to love him, but he wanted things to remain the same. He wanted them to remain best friends and be able to be completely comfortable with one another and have complete faith and trust in one another, but he could feel Eren pulling away.

And it hurt.

He wondered how Mikasa felt.

Was she as hurt as he or was she mature and accepting of the fact that things weren’t the same as they had been when they were kids?

Armin groaned. He sounded like such a stupid teenager. Stupid stupid stupid. This wasn’t some dumb teen drama, the kind that teenagers living in Sina had the luxury of experiencing. His problems were far different than theirs.

He had to be a mature young adult (at fifteen). He had to accept that he and Eren might be drifting apart. That Eren was branching out, that maybe Mikasa was too, meeting new people and making new friends…something he’d always been awful at.

“Armin?”

Armin started violently. He almost fell off his bed, but a strong arm caught him across the chest and gently pushed him back upright.

Reiner blushed, having accidentally pushed Armin a little too. To an observer, it would’ve looked like he was shoving Armin onto the bed.

The thought wasn’t entirely without appeal.

Armin sat back up and Reiner shook his head, coming back to his sanity. _Don’t be a perv,_ he said sternly. Hard not to, though. Armin wasn’t wearing his gear or his uniform or boots, just a loose, soft white shirt and black pajama bottoms. They were loose on him, since they were men’s issued sleep wear and he was on the slender side, and Reiner’s gaze was drawn to his exposed skin, his elegant collarbone and delicate neck.

“Oh. Hello Reiner,” Armin said softly. He made a soft smile before looking away, out the window at the darkening skies.

“Is-is something wrong?”

Armin smiled faintly.

“No.”

They were both silent for a minute, watching the sun go down.

Then, Reiner sensed a shift in the atmosphere, almost as soon as the last sliver of gold had slipped away.

Armin turned toward him, his eyes glittering in the semidarkness. “Why did you come here?”

Reiner started a little. “I-I wanted to talk to you. Um, get to know you a little better. I mean, I-“ he cursed his voice for faltering and closing before he could get out what he wanted. _I like you. I think you’re beautiful and I care about you and I want you to love me the way you do Eren and Mikasa, even if that’s not fair of me._

Still, Armin was smart. He was looking at him like he could read his thoughts. Smart Armin, intellectual, intuitive Armin would know, could see how he felt, maybe he would have mercy…

“Come here.” Armin gestured for him to come closer. Reiner hesitated, but only for a brief second. He suddenly felt very nervous, being alone with Armin, in his bedroom, in the near darkness. He stood in front of Armin on the bed, every nerve on end, his skin suddenly feeling sweaty and gross, his body awkward and too large. Armin pressed his knees against Reiner’s gently, taking his large rough hands into his smaller ones.

Idly Armin felt Reiner’s palms. They were rough, as all of theirs were, from practicing arduously with the 3-D Maneuver Gear. Armin liked how they felt. He wondered how they’d feel pressed up against his skin, if they’d be rough and hasty or gentle and slow.

_What kind of lover are you?_

Armin ran his thin fingers up his palm, pausing at the sleeve. He looked up, and all Reiner could see of him were his bright blue eyes.

Reiner felt a hand on his neck and realized Armin had quietly stood up, on the tip of his boots (Reiner grinned), and was pressed up against him. He could hear, almost feel Armin’s heartbeat, so calm and steady as opposed to his own frantic, erratic one.  He felt Armin bury his nose into his broad neck, both arms wrapping around his waist and rubbing his back.

Reiner’s heartbeat seemed too loud. Was it bothering Armin? Armin seemed so small, so fragile. He knew what Armin wanted, and it was something he wanted to, but suddenly he had misgivings. What if he hurt him? What if he wasn’t… good? How were you supposed to go about something like this anyway? It had always been easy with Bertholdt, because they were friends and they could talk about what they liked, but he had a crush on Armin, he couldn’t be as open, he had something to prove…

He wasn’t sure what.

He felt soft, cold lips against the base of his throat, leaving burning little butterfly kisses in a trail to his collarbone. .

To his credit, he didn’t gasp, but he did swallow, shivering ever so slightly at the sensation. He was glad Armin couldn’t see him too clearly, though he no doubt could feel the heat from his blushing. Reiner bent his head down and Armin seemed to have been waiting for this because he immediately pressed his lips to Reiner’s.

Reiner was shocked at the intensity in which Armin attacked his mouth. He was shocked at how eager the boy was. He’d never seen this side of him before, never seen his passion bubble to the surface.

Only when Armin pulled him onto his bed, letting his much larger body drape over him, did he pause, for only a moment, and wonder why Armin was doing this. But he couldn’t think, didn’t want to think, not right now. Not with Armin’s beautiful eyes on his, his beautiful body squirming under his, slender legs, shaking slightly, coming up to rest against his waist.

In the heat of the moment (and also in darkness), Reiner could not for the life of him figure out how to deal with the devilish, conniving contraptions around his chest. He cursed and fumbled awkwardly with the straps. Armin laughed sweetly, leaning up and helping him, clever fingers teasing the belt buckles undone and brushing tantalizingly against his chest in the process. His touch drifted to his pelvis and very lightly brushed against the hardness forming there, but he drifted upwards instead to catch the bottom of his shirt.

Every sensation felt heightened by the darkness. He couldn’t see it, but he could sense Armin’s smile, could imagine that beautiful rare smile of his, could hear his little intake of breath as the smaller blond felt his abdomen and his chest. His touch was electrifying, his small hands scarred and eager to explore the strong planes of his body.

When he felt cold lips against the center of his abdomen, Armin’s button nose nuzzling against him, he groaned. Reiner leaned down and took Armin’s face in both hands. His thumb flitted over his skin, feeling the face he’d grown to love, feeling his smile, feeling his adorable cheekbones. He leaned down to kiss him again.

Reiner didn’t want to hurt him.

He never wanted to hurt anyone. Even in the throes of passion, his actions and his movements were slow and patient, waiting for Armin to say it was ok.

Armin said more than ok.

In fact, he surprised Reiner with the force of his words. He hadn’t made a sound when Reiner’s first finger penetrated him, nor when the second one did, but as he added a third one, twisting ever so slightly, he must’ve touched something because Armin gasped and his hips had jerked. Reiner had had to hold his hips down, tell him that if he moved he might hurt himself, to just shhh, he would do it for him, he would satisfy him, he promised. And Armin had settled down with a sigh, his legs spread open compliantly, his hips obediently still as Reiner pushed his fingers in as deeply as he could, up to the knuckle.

But when Reiner brushed against the spot again, his fingers scissoring only ever so slightly and putting the lightest of pressure on it, Armin couldn’t contain himself. His fingers dug into his shoulders and his hand went to Reiner’s dick, as if he was trying to appeal to his baser instincts and convince him to take what he wanted. Let go of the caring, compassionate Reiner he knew and lose himself.

Armin murmured filthy words into his ear, begging Reiner to have his way with him, to fuck him until the only word he could utter was his name, use him like he was nothing but a toy, a doll designed just for him.

And though these words were embarrassing, awkward in a daytime setting, Reiner let them go to his head, the words dizzying, empowering. He felt powerful this way, with small, weak Armin underneath him, begging for him. 

Tonight he allowed himself to be different. Tomorrow, things might go back to normal and he and Armin might go back to just being friends, distant friends like Armin was with everyone else, but he wanted to savor the feeling of being his lover.

Just tonight.

And if, the next day, he went back to just being good old Reiner, dependable and sweet and nice Reiner who was the guy you went to for advice, then tonight he would indulge in a fantasy. He would use Armin, just like he knew, deep down, that Armin was using him.

So when Armin asked him to fuck him, he obeyed. He spread his legs wide and pushed his length inside of him, hearing his gasp of pain and feeling him trembling around him. Reiner pushed in as deep as possible, the heat and the pressure dizzying. Armin felt so amazing, so hot and tight around him, and he fucked him slowly, never asking if Armin was ok. He wouldn’t hurt him, no he couldn’t do that, but he would make Armin cry out for him. If only for tonight.

 And Armin did cry. He cried in frustration with the slow pace. He cried when Reiner’s thrusts grew stronger and harsher, slamming against his ass roughly but in the same aggravatingly slow speed. He cried as his right leg was hoisted up and Reiner’s length slipped even further inside of him, fucking him deeper. All at the same pace. He grinded against him, fiercely and steadily, rubbing against his prostrate but slipping inside in just the right manner to avoid giving him exactly what he wanted.

Armin moaned, in pleasure and in frustration. Damn Reiner. Who knew he could such a tease? But Armin couldn’t blame him. He was using him. He might as well let Reiner use him the way he wanted to.

“What was that, dear?”

The closest thing Reiner had ever made to a sneer appeared on his face. Armin could imagine it, in the dark, fit it with the smug tone he heard with the picture in his head. He frowned, but he couldn’t maintain a cross attitude when a particularly harsh thrust made him see stars. “Oh god, please, there!” he cried. “Don’t-don’t tease me anymore, right there.” He pushed his own body up against Reiner’s cock, trying to reach that place on his own, but it only heightened the fact that he couldn’t reach it properly on his own. He had wanted to touch himself, but Reiner wouldn’t have it, wouldn’t allow him to. _You’re much crueler in bed than I ever imagined you could be._

Reiner wanted to laugh, but Armin tensed, squeezing around him, and he was no longer in any fit state to be amused at Armin’s desperation. He himself was getting awfully close and it was getting difficult to remain in control. His pace increased. And at one point, the point where Armin’s right hand let go of his death grip on his shoulder to wrap around his own cock (and he allowed him to this time), he finally relented. He pulled Armin’s legs up around his waist and _leaned_ forward, pushing all of his weight onto him.

He hit Armin’s prostrate exactly. Finally, after all the teasing, he grinded against it head on, digging into, _ravaging_ the spot, and making stars explode across Armin’s eyelids with the burning, explosive pleasure it sent tearing through his entire body.

And Armin screamed. Throughout, he’d whimpered, he’d cried out, he’d gasped and panted and moaned, but he hadn’t _screamed._ And now he did and it was Reiner’s name he screamed, not Eren’s or anyone else’s, and with the deepened angle, with the satisfying sound of victory, with Armin’s body tightening and tensing around him with release, he came.

And afterwards, Armin didn’t invite him to say, but he didn’t tell him to go either. So Reiner stayed, the two of them tightly intertwined on the small bed, cradling one another like lovers despite not being so. In the morning, it was Armin who woke first, long before the crack of dawn.

And looking down at him, studying his handsome face and thinking about the way he’d woken up with his strong burly arms wrapped around him, encompassing him in an illusion of safety he hadn’t experienced in a long time, remembering the tender look Reiner had given him when he’d kissed him goodnight, Armin thought he could get used to this. Eren wasn’t his, but that somehow felt more alright now. 

He could love Reiner. He did love him. It would take time, perhaps, time that they did not have, but for Reiner’s sake and his own, he could try to return his love. He could grow to love him. He could love the lines and features of his face, the way they relaxed in his sleep. He could love his firm shoulders and warm, strong hugs, and the way he was strong but gentle. He could love Reiner’s hearty, solid laugh and his odd sense of humor and all the little quirks about him that made him who he was.

He smiled affectionately at the way the sleeping Reiner cuddled the pillow in his absence. _I could get used to this._

**Author's Note:**

> It's hard growing apart from people you used to spend all of your time with.


End file.
